By: Chris McNutt
The headlines sound promising.
The Department of Justice recently announced the creation of a brand-new Second Amendment Rights Section inside its Civil Rights Division — a first-of-its-kind office supposedly dedicated to protecting gun owners from unconstitutional state and local infringements.
Political insiders and MAGA influencers are spinning it as “proof” the DOJ is finally taking gun rights seriously. And some in the gun-rights world are cautiously optimistic, especially with Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon — a longtime ally to gun owners — overseeing the division that will house it.
But here’s the truth gun owners need to hear: you don’t stop a runaway bureaucracy with a press release.
No one should trust a single bureaucrat inside the DOJ until their actions match their headlines.
Because right now, the DOJ is speaking out of both sides of its mouth — promising gun-rights enforcement with one hand while defending gun-control tyranny with the other.
And unless gun owners stay loud, organized, and relentless, this new office could turn out to be just another Washington smokescreen.
Let’s break down exactly what’s going on.
Trump Ordered DOJ to Crack Down — Because Gun Owners Forced His Hand
During the last election, no-compromise organizations like Texas Gun Rights and NAGR made it absolutely clear that gun owners were expecting far more than marginal improvements or “better than Biden.”
Gun owners didn’t deliver a Republican trifecta just to put the brakes on gun control. We fought to take our rights back — outright.
We wanted:
- an aggressive rollback of federal gun control,
- a dismantling of the anti-gun bureaucracy,
- and a DOJ that defends the Second Amendment, not undermines it.
President Trump recognized that mandate. That’s why he issued his directive ordering DOJ to assess “ongoing infringements” on gun rights during his first month back in office.
2A Rights Section Created While Bondi’s DOJ Was Defending the NFA in Court?
If the DOJ wants gun owners to believe things are changing, the SilencerShop/GOA lawsuit was the perfect moment to prove it.
In the week before the announcement of the creation of the 2A Rights Section, the DOJ filed a scathing brief, defending the National Firearms Act in Court..
In a 48-page summary-judgment brief, DOJ lawyers:
- claimed a $0 NFA tax is still a “valid tax,”
- insisted Congress still has the power to enforce the NFA registry,
- argued the Commerce Clause gives them sweeping gun-control authority,
- used the Necessary & Proper Clause to justify federal gun registration,
- and declared SBRs, SBSs, suppressors, and AOWs “dangerous and unusual,”
All while asking the judge to hand them victory with no trial and no evidence.
This wasn’t a mild defense. This was an aggressive, ideological stand — a full-throated attempt to protect NFA and expand regulatory powers — despite Congress killing the tax that supported it.
So how can the DOJ claim to defend gun rights while simultaneously defending the most unconstitutional gun-control law on the books?
The Membership List Scandal Shows the Bureaucracy Is Still Out of Control
Just weeks ago, DOJ publicly denied wanting membership lists from gun-rights organizations.
Dhillon herself defended DOJ based on those denials.
Then DOJ lawyers filed a motion demanding those membership lists anyway — behind her back.
If the Deputy Attorney General in charge of civil rights wasn’t told what her own attorneys were doing, that means:
- rogue staff are still operating,
- anti-gun ideologues are still embedded,
- and the bureaucracy is bigger than the leadership trying to reform it.
This should alarm every gun owner in America.
Because if they’ll hide something that big from Dhillon, they’ll hide anything.
Harmeet Dhillon Could Change Everything — If the Bureaucracy Doesn’t Undermine Her
Dhillon is one of the best possible people to oversee a gun-rights civil-rights office.
She has a track record of fighting unconstitutional disclosure demands, defending gun-rights organizations, beating rogue bureaucrats in court, and refusing to back down when liberty is at stake.
She is not Merrick Garland — not in worldview, not in philosophy, and not in courage.
But the DOJ is a massive, entrenched bureaucracy.
It can stonewall, sabotage, and bury even the best appointee — unless gun owners stay engaged.
The DOJ Is Still the DOJ — And Caution Is Mandatory
Here’s the truth:
The DOJ is tens of thousands of employees deep. It has layers of management insulated by civil-service protection.
It has lawyers who have spent 20–30 years defending the NFA, ATF, and every unconstitutional gun law ever passed.
You don’t drain that overnight. You don’t reform it without a fight. And you don’t trust it until it proves it has changed.
That’s why Texas Gun Rights is taking a sober, no-compromise stance.
“We hope President Trump chose well — but we will not trust ANY ATF or DOJ official until they prove they’re here to dismantle the anti-gun bureaucracy, not run it. Dhillon may be an ally, but DOJ’s recent actions show exactly why caution is necessary. We need results, not press releases.” Chris McNutt, president of Texas Gun Rights stated.
That’s the position every gun owner should take.
Hopeful — but not naïve. Encouraged — but not fooled. Alert — and ready.
Gun Owners Must Stay Engaged — Because Bureaucracies Don’t Reform Themselves
No federal agency has ever voluntarily restored your rights.
The ATF never reformed itself.
The FBI never reformed itself.
The NICS system never reformed itself.
And the DOJ will not suddenly start defending gun owners just because it created a new office with a nice title.
Bureaucracies don’t fix themselves, don’t restrain themselves, and they don’t give back power — they have to be forced.
That’s why Texas Gun Rights will monitor every move this new 2A Rights Section makes, put pressure the White House to keep the DOJ in line and mobilize millions of Texans to ensure liberty wins.
Because history is clear:
The courts won’t save us.
The bureaucracy won’t save us.
Politicians won’t save us.
Only gun owners — organized, relentless, and unafraid — can save the Second Amendment.
And that is exactly what Texas Gun Rights intends to do. Will you chip in to the fight below?
